'Maybe They Disqualify Me': Alonso Mocks FIA After Cheeky Japan Tactic
F1Sunday, 07 April 2024 at 23:00
Updated at Monday, 08 April 2024 at 07:47
Fernando Alonso didn't forget about his 20-second penalty from the Australian Grand Prix after his cheeky tactic at the Suzuka Circuit.
The 42-year-old driver is the most experienced driver on the F1 grid, and it's not surprising that he always has a few aces up his sleeve, trying to one up his opponents in close battles.
He used one of those during the 2024 Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit, when he broke early for one of the turns, trying to gain a straight-line speed advantage over Mercedes' George Russell, who was closely following him.
However, the British driver, who was looking at his steering wheel at the time, couldn't see the move coming, and as a result, he ended up in the barriers. After the race, Alonso was penalized with a 20-second time penalty.
Following the penalty, the Spanish driver voiced his displeasure with the ruling, as he remembers much harder racing from early 2000s, and getting a penalty for a no-contact incident was just too much for him.
Now, at the Japanese Grand Prix, the two-time World Champion used yet another cheeky tactic, this time one that was deployed also by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz last year at the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, when he purposefully gave his good friend, Lando Norris, DRS, to keep once again, George Russell, away from a chance to overtake him.
In Japan, it was again Russell who was the faster driver behind, this time chasing Oscar Piastri in McLaren, to whom, seemingly, Alonso purposefully gave DRS to keep the British driver behind both of them.
After the race, the Spanish veteran was asked about the move, but remembering his penalty from Australia, he jokingly took a sly dig at FIA, saying that if he admits to using the tactic, they may even disqualify him.
"I don't know what to say, after Australia. Maybe they disqualify me from the Championship."
Piastri also talked to the media after the race, and he admitted that he was aware of Alonso's tactic, as he could see when he deployed his energy, and the Spaniard did it tactically, to give the Australian DRS.
"I could tell by the way he was using the energy. I could tell he was trying to keep me in his DRS, so George couldn’t pass me and attack him. I knew exactly what he was doing but I just made a bit of a mistake into the last chicane, locked up a bit and that was it."
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